Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Here Comes Santa Claus, Part 11

This track consists
of a fundraising appeal for the WOR Children’s Christmas Fund, recorded by the late E.G.
Marshall, who hosted the popular CBS Radio Mystery Theater from 1974-82. For more than 40
years, the WOR Children’s Christmas Fund purchased and distributed thousands of
holiday presents to children in New York area hospitals and institutions. It
was started in 1948 by Edythe Meserand, one of the first women to hold significant
positions of authority in this country’s broadcasting industry. It seems she was
working late one night with a colleague when the pair decided to get something
from their favorite restaurant. Although the kitchen was closed, the chef
agreed to cook them dinner if they’d drive him to Bellevue Hospital afterward
so he could drop off some candy for the patients in the abused children’s ward.
Meserand accompanied the chef inside, and she was so moved by what she saw that
she persuaded WOR’s management to raise money on the air and provide gifts to
the children in such institutions. She remained the driving force behind the
project from its inception until shortly before her death in 1997, attracting
talent like E.G. Marshall to assist with fundraising, as here. I wrote about
Marshall’s work on the CBS Radio Mystery Theater last year, at which time I
provided links to two entertaining Christmas-themed versions of his show. Here
they are again:

Press HERE to listen to the CBSRMT version of A
Christmas Carol, starring E.G. Marshall in his only appearance on the
program that extended beyond his typical role as host.Press HEREfor a second Christmas-themed CBSRMT
episode, A Holiday Visit, starring Lloyd Battista and Diana
Kirkwood. Don't miss the frigid weather forecast that opens the broadcast,
which was recorded on December 25, 1980.(NOTE: Depending on your
browser, these tracks may take up to 20-30 seconds to load. Bah! Humbug!)

Track
30

My
Favourite Time of Year, by The Florin Street Band (2010)

Leigh Haggerwood

This is probably my
favorite song on this year’s CD, which is just the sort of reaction London-based
composer Leigh Haggerwood had in mind when he first started work on this ambitious
recording project. Haggerwood loves Christmas songs, and he had become
increasingly concerned about the lack of quality holiday music being produced
in the English-speaking world. He’s far from alone in that opinion, of course,
but Haggerwood took things to the next level by resolving to create a
heart-warming new song that would capture the old-fashioned spirit of
Christmas. He took his idea – and eventually this song – to the major British
record labels, but none of them was interested in supporting the project, so he
put things together on his own. He gathered together all of his many musical
friends and called the resulting group The Florin Street Band, and by November
of 2010, they not only had a fine-sounding record but a beautiful video, too:

For the full story,
be sure to check out the group’s terrific website, where you’ll find some real
old-fashioned Christmas magic.

Track
29

The
First Noel, by Johnny “Bowtie” Barstow (2004)

When
I hear ‘Over The Rainbow,’ I think of Judy Garland. When I hear ‘Diamonds Are A
Girl's Best Friend,’ I think of Marilyn Monroe. And in the future, when I hear ‘The
First Noel,’ I shall think of Bowtie. He has made it his own – and that goes
for anything he sings.”

Sir
Richard Rodney Bennett

Every now and then an artist
emerges whose vision is so unique that it creates an entirely new musical
paradigm. Stretching the realm of technique by introducing harmonic or rhythmic
contexts far removed from the norm, they’re often unappreciated in their time,
but the passage of years can ultimately bring recognition for their genius.
Ornette Coleman was one such artist. Now we have singer Johnny
"Bowtie" Barstow.

John
Kelman, allaboutjazz.com

When keyboardist
Larry Goldings discovered Johnny “Bowtie” Barstow performing at an open mic
night in a New York City bar in the early 1990s, he knew he’d found something
special. Over the course of the next two years, Goldings recorded Bowtie’s
treatment of a variety of holiday songs and other standards in his home studio.
The result was a 24-song album titled A Bowtie Christmas and More. I’ve
featured Bowtie on nearly all of my holiday CDs – in fact, no other artist has
appeared more frequently in my mixes. Fortunately, there are still a couple of holiday numbers of his that I haven't used yet, so we’ve all got something to look
forward to. What is it that makes Bowtie’s style so memorable? Jazz journalist
John Kelman explains the secret as follows:

Some musicians spend years on
technique, working hard to hone accepted skills like pitch and time. Barstow
dispenses with such limitations. His interpretive sense is so unorthodox that
once you hear his renditions of classic Christmas tunes including "Joy to
the World," "The First Noel," and the tongue-in-cheek
"Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer," you’ll never see them the same
way again.

Here’s a
promotional piece for Bowtie’s only album to date. Let’s hope we see another before
too long.

Countdown to Christmas

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